My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
7102

[quote]the2pin wrote:

I’ve been doing this diet on-and-off for about a year now. During the past two months I feel as though I have really dialed it in.

In my opinion, the most important thing is finding a way to make the diet work with your lifestyle. Determine the days you will be, say, drinking alcohol or eating cake, and build the diet around those days.

I have been going 5 days high fat, 2 days carbs, with good results. As I have been on the diet for awhile, I am going to experiment by doing a 1-day carb up this week on Wednesday and then another 1-day carb up on Saturday, instead of the typical 48 hour weekend carbup.

I’ll report back with my progress. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. [/quote]

That’s what I am doing. So far so good.

7103

Alright. I just got done with the Get Shredded Diet (which is pretty much the AD I suppose) and am now looking to add some MASS to the body.

Currently 175 at 8% body fat, down from 220 in June.I have a copy of the AD book, read through the first 15 pages of this thread (will finish it in due time) awill most likely start very soon. I do have a few questions though…

The GSD got me hooked on Veggies, and I usually eat a half bag at every meal. I’m assuming this is alright if I stick to the fibrous green ones(broc, spinach, peas)?

Is there a way to tell if I am fat adapted already? I’ve been doing the GSD for about 6 weeks, and that is a 55-60% fat diet, so I’m assuming I could just go head and do a 5 day on/2day carb load and skip the 12 day intro phase. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Also, is Flax Seed good to go? The flax seed meal I have is 4g of fat, and 4g of carbs, but the carbs ALL come from fiber. I intend on making a few high fat shakes throughout the day/week, and this has been a staple of mine for months now.

I could start tomorrow (Monday) and just get the ball rolling and slowly increase my cals over the next few weeks. I’ll start my cals at 2,000 and then work my way up to 2850 - 3000 or so. Maybe even higher.

7104

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Alright. I just got done with the Get Shredded Diet (which is pretty much the AD I suppose) and am now looking to add some MASS to the body.

Currently 175 at 8% body fat, down from 220 in June.I have a copy of the AD book, read through the first 15 pages of this thread (will finish it in due time) awill most likely start very soon. I do have a few questions though…

The GSD got me hooked on Veggies, and I usually eat a half bag at every meal. I’m assuming this is alright if I stick to the fibrous green ones(broc, spinach, peas)?

Is there a way to tell if I am fat adapted already? I’ve been doing the GSD for about 6 weeks, and that is a 55-60% fat diet, so I’m assuming I could just go head and do a 5 day on/2day carb load and skip the 12 day intro phase. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Also, is Flax Seed good to go? The flax seed meal I have is 4g of fat, and 4g of carbs, but the carbs ALL come from fiber. I intend on making a few high fat shakes throughout the day/week, and this has been a staple of mine for months now.

I could start tomorrow (Monday) and just get the ball rolling and slowly increase my cals over the next few weeks. I’ll start my cals at 2,000 and then work my way up to 2850 - 3000 or so. Maybe even higher.[/quote]

I eat a flax muffin EVERY day, flaxmeal is WONDERFUL for this diet!! This is my recipe, but you can alter it anyway you need to for your macros, I get 6-7 out of this and if I need more cals, I spread butter or PB on it:

1 3/4 c.flaxmeal (I use Bobs Red Mill)
6 egg whites
6 whole eggs
4 tbs butter ( I se Smart Balance)
1 scoop PP
1 tsp baking powder
cinnamon
nutmeg
ginger (basically any you like, I prefer a good amt. of cinnamon)
you could also do a hint of cocoa powder or vanilla extract
add some splenda if you want it sweeter, but factor in some calories for that

mix and 350 until done! About 20 min or so, depends

7105

no one responded to my question so i will just ask again… is it possible to do the carb up say starting at 5pm on Friday and do it till 5 on Sunday or something like that? I ask because it is easiest for my work schedule, but i will figure a way to change if it is not beneficial.

please let me know. thanks.

also, im assuming i can jump into mass gaining right now? i just finished startup at 4200 cals a day, and i plan on hittin about 5k a day for now.

7106

Just some insight for people deciding on whether they should start the AD:

The pump from the carb up days is MASSIVE. I have used AAS in the past, and the AD pump is very comparable. There is evidence that big pumps like this contribute greatly to muscle growth.

Cutting on the AD is also comparable to moderate AAS use. I lost virtually zero muscle while losing a fair amount of fat. In the first 4 weeks my family did not see me. When I went home a month later, they all immediately commented on how good I looked (and I was nowhere near fat before).

My cravings for carbs/junk food have decreased so much, that on the cheat weekends I often don’t even feel like cheating. It’s not a big deal for me.

I plan on staying on this diet for life.

7107

[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
no one responded to my question so i will just ask again… is it possible to do the carb up say starting at 5pm on Friday and do it till 5 on Sunday or something like that? I ask because it is easiest for my work schedule, but i will figure a way to change if it is not beneficial.

please let me know. thanks.

also, im assuming i can jump into mass gaining right now? i just finished startup at 4200 cals a day, and i plan on hittin about 5k a day for now. [/quote]

if you can make it work, I guess, it seems a bit long though…but I’m no pro. Can you just start Sat morning? Or go Friday night to Sat night?

7108

well it was the 48hr thing. i know Disc Hoss originally wanted everyone to do the diet exactly for the first month or so.

im more worried about eating all protein/fat in first part of the day and then crazy carbs later. like, does it still work right? im thinkin i might just have to sac up and do like all fri and sat, and just tough it out on sundays. its just kind of hard on my work schedule… thanks for your help!!!

7109

[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
well it was the 48hr thing. i know Disc Hoss originally wanted everyone to do the diet exactly for the first month or so.

im more worried about eating all protein/fat in first part of the day and then crazy carbs later. like, does it still work right? im thinkin i might just have to sac up and do like all fri and sat, and just tough it out on sundays. its just kind of hard on my work schedule… thanks for your help!!![/quote]

I see what you mean. I’d have to understand the work thing to see why you were wanting to do that. You must have meals on Sunday that are not AD friendly? or what?

and, anytime! :slight_smile:

7110

well, the funny thing is I work at a restaurant, but my manager is pretty much a nazi, and its a pretty busy restaurant. this means that when i am working, we have to sneak food prety much, and on a weekend there is sometimes little time for food. so i typically can only get to some soup and bread.

the weekends typically have me pulling a shift on thur night, sometime fri and sat (morn or night) and morning on sunday. it just makes it hard b/c i can not bring food in, and its hard to get food that is protein/fat while im there…

7111

[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
well, the funny thing is I work at a restaurant, but my manager is pretty much a nazi, and its a pretty busy restaurant. this means that when i am working, we have to sneak food prety much, and on a weekend there is sometimes little time for food. so i typically can only get to some soup and bread.

the weekends typically have me pulling a shift on thur night, sometime fri and sat (morn or night) and morning on sunday. it just makes it hard b/c i can not bring food in, and its hard to get food that is protein/fat while im there…[/quote]

Depending on the length of your shifts, you might consider bringing in some nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.). You can munch on those to satisfy yourself until you have time for a more substantial meal. It would probably be a good idea to rinse with water so that your teeth are presentable after eating the nuts.

7112

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Alright. I just got done with the Get Shredded Diet (which is pretty much the AD I suppose) and am now looking to add some MASS to the body.

Currently 175 at 8% body fat, down from 220 in June.I have a copy of the AD book, read through the first 15 pages of this thread (will finish it in due time) awill most likely start very soon. I do have a few questions though…

The GSD got me hooked on Veggies, and I usually eat a half bag at every meal. I’m assuming this is alright if I stick to the fibrous green ones(broc, spinach, peas)?

Is there a way to tell if I am fat adapted already? I’ve been doing the GSD for about 6 weeks, and that is a 55-60% fat diet, so I’m assuming I could just go head and do a 5 day on/2day carb load and skip the 12 day intro phase. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Also, is Flax Seed good to go? The flax seed meal I have is 4g of fat, and 4g of carbs, but the carbs ALL come from fiber. I intend on making a few high fat shakes throughout the day/week, and this has been a staple of mine for months now.

I could start tomorrow (Monday) and just get the ball rolling and slowly increase my cals over the next few weeks. I’ll start my cals at 2,000 and then work my way up to 2850 - 3000 or so. Maybe even higher.[/quote]

Spinach and broc are fine during the low carb portion, but peas have way too many carbs except for the carb ups. I eat one pound of spinach and one pound of broc every day of the low carb cycle.

Flax is great for fiber and omega 3’s during low carb days. I have 4 tablespoons a day.

In my opinion, you will be fine to go into 5/2 without the two week induction.

7113

[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
no one responded to my question so i will just ask again… is it possible to do the carb up say starting at 5pm on Friday and do it till 5 on Sunday or something like that? I ask because it is easiest for my work schedule, but i will figure a way to change if it is not beneficial.

please let me know. thanks.

also, im assuming i can jump into mass gaining right now? i just finished startup at 4200 cals a day, and i plan on hittin about 5k a day for now. [/quote]

This carb up schedule will be fine.

7114

[quote]bholiday wrote:
Lonnie123 wrote:
Spinach and broc are fine during the low carb portion, but peas have way too many carbs except for the carb ups. I eat one pound of spinach and one pound of broc every day of the low carb cycle.

Flax is great for fiber and omega 3’s during low carb days. I have 4 tablespoons a day.

In my opinion, you will be fine to go into 5/2 without the two week induction.
[/quote]

Alright, I went anabolic today!

Meal 1 - 3 eggs, cheese, bacon

Meal 2 - 1/3 pound beef, cheese, Guacamole, broccoli

Meal 3 - 1 cup cottage cheese, 2 tbsp PButter, 2 tbsp Flax

Meal 4 - 1/3 beef, cheese, bacon, veggies

Meal 5 - 3 eggs, cheese, guacamole

The cottage cheese is a little higher in carbs than I had thought, so meal 3 was an 18g dose of carbs. All-in-all that is pretty much all the carbs in the diet though except for the occasional 1 here 1 there.

I’m already having some fun on the diet so-to-speak. I havent had bacon in a long time, so that was nice. I cant wait to see how this goes long term. Heres to going Anabolic!

7115

[quote]Thomas Gabriel wrote:
Just some insight for people deciding on whether they should start the AD:

The pump from the carb up days is MASSIVE. I have used AAS in the past, and the AD pump is very comparable. There is evidence that big pumps like this contribute greatly to muscle growth.

Cutting on the AD is also comparable to moderate AAS use. I lost virtually zero muscle while losing a fair amount of fat. In the first 4 weeks my family did not see me. When I went home a month later, they all immediately commented on how good I looked (and I was nowhere near fat before).

My cravings for carbs/junk food have decreased so much, that on the cheat weekends I often don’t even feel like cheating. It’s not a big deal for me.

I plan on staying on this diet for life. [/quote]

Hey, could you tell me how did you cut on the AD? Did you cut 500 a week? Do you keep ratios the same? (ie fat 60% protein 35% carb below 30)while cutting? Do you have to add cardio? THanks for all help

7116

One more question, about training this time.

I’m going to be following more of a West Side template in the coming months/years, and I was wonder where I should place my training days.

Essentially I have the following days to allocate:

High Rep lower body (5x12)
Heavy Lower (5x5, 1-RM squat attempt biweekly)
Heavy Upper body (5x3)
High Rep (5x12 with a 1RM bench attempt)

I was thinking the following :

Sun - High Rep Lower
Mon - High Rep Upper
Tues - Off
Wed - Heavy Lower
Thurs - off
Fri - Heavy Upper
Sat - Off

I wanna get those pumps and take advantage of/deplete the glycogen stores early in the week, and then save the heavy work for later in the week when glycogen is not as important.

Does that sound good?

7117

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
One more question, about training this time.

I’m going to be following more of a West Side template in the coming months/years, and I was wonder where I should place my training days.

Essentially I have the following days to allocate:

High Rep lower body (5x12)
Heavy Lower (5x5, 1-RM squat attempt biweekly)
Heavy Upper body (5x3)
High Rep (5x12 with a 1RM bench attempt)

I was thinking the following :

Sun - High Rep Lower
Mon - High Rep Upper
Tues - Off
Wed - Heavy Lower
Thurs - off
Fri - Heavy Upper
Sat - Off

I wanna get those pumps and take advantage of/deplete the glycogen stores early in the week, and then save the heavy work for later in the week when glycogen is not as important.

Does that sound good?[/quote]

I’m gonna warn you dude, you may want to switch your ME days with where your RE days are. You’ll need the extra energy for ME days…trust me.

AD

7118

So put the higher reps later in the week, and do the heavy lifting right after the carb up? Any other reason than just needing the energy, or does one tire out later in the week when it comes to training on this diet?

Also, do BCAA’s factor in nicely to this diet?
I’m assuming since Surge is out of the question on the week day workouts, a BCAA shot with some extra Whey would be the right way to go? Something like a scoop of whey, and 5-10g extra BCAA? I read earlier in the thread about just using a scoop of whey.

7119

Alright, last of my newbie questions for now
:slight_smile: I’m basically going to be using this diet for mass while keeping fat gains in check. As far as cardio goes, whats the general rule people have found? I know DH said early on in the thread to keep it easy, possibly doing some circuit work to drain the glycogen, does that still hold true.

I gained waaaay too much fat on my last “bulking” cycle, and I totally omitted cardio that time, so I dont want to make that mistake again. I am thinking of doing about 120-180 minutes of cardio of varying intensities spread throughout the week. How does this sound? I can usually ride my bike to the gym, which is about 15 minutes each way, which was going to be my main form of
“cardio”, along with some 10x10 burpee sessions at night.

7120

i’m a college swimmer, which means i’m doing 10-15 hours of cardio per week on top of 3 hours of lifting. been on the diet for a bit and feeling fine. just a matter of keeping calories high enough to perform that kind of work and timing re-feeds properly. May i suggest reading this…

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1268956

answers alot of bulking questions, some you didn’t even know you had.

7121

so Black Cat or Alpha or anyone, do you think that i should just bring in some nuts or something to hold over on Sunday, and just run my Carb loads on Fri and Sat all day?

I just cant seem to understand how to start a carbload in the middle of the day and have it be effective, so i guess im trying to change that…